How to boil an egg

Laura Willard is a law school grad who has successfully avoided using her education for eight years and counting. She's a wife and an adoptive mom to two kids. Motherhood is the best job she never knew she wanted so much until she had it...

The art of egg boiling

Hard-boiled eggs make a great protein-packed addition to your breakfast or a tasty snack when you're on the go. Of course, they're only fast if you have them ready in your fridge! Learn how to properly hard-boil an egg with our helpful tips.

Watch: how to hard-boil an egg

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Creating the perfect hard-boiled egg

Not sure how to boil an egg? No worries -- we're here to help. A common mistake people make when boiling eggs is dropping them into the water after it has come to a boil. Don't do that! The shells will crack and you'll have a boiled mess -- definitely not a hard-boiled egg.

What you'll need

To properly hard-boil eggs, begin with cold water in a pan and your eggs -- both at the same time. Simple, right? Put the eggs into the pot and bring the water to a boil.

Boil away

Cover your pot with a lid and turn the heat off. Don't forget this important step. You don't want the stove on once the water has come to a boil. Let the eggs cook for about fifteen minutes for a perfect texture.

For a soft-boiled egg, let it cook for just five minutes.

Once your eggs are done, bring the pan to the sink, drain and rinse the hard-boiled eggs with cold water. Rinsing with cold water makes it much easier for you to remove the shell.

Hints

To peel your hard-boiled egg, crack it on the counter all around to loosen the shell and then simply peel. When hard-boiling eggs, it's best to use older eggs instead of fresh eggs because the shell comes off older eggs more readily. Yet another reason hard-boiling is great: When your eggs are nearing their expiration date, you can still enjoy them.

Finally, hard-boil several eggs at once. They will keep in the fridge for a few of days and you'll have a quick, nutritious high-protein snack ready to go.